Jody was born to parents Shirley and Anthony Neri on May 23, 1951 in Lorain, Ohio, where she grew up the middle of five children, and attended Clearview High School. Jody married Jeff Novotny in 1976, and the couple raised three children. Beginning in 1977 they made the first of several relocations due to job opportunities, first to Cincinnati OH, then to Canton OH, Chicago IL, and San Diego, the latter becoming their permanent home in 1986.
In addition to her role as wife and mother, Jody held several positions with banks during a span of 25 years, including Lorain National Bank (Lorain, OH), and Bank of America (San Diego, CA). She also had a successful career with Mitchell 1 Automotive Repair Information (Poway, CA) commencing in 1995, retiring from her position as Sales Manager in 2013.
Jody’s greatest love was her family, with whom she enjoyed many activities such as movies, music, musicals, and following her hometown Cleveland Indians. She was a wonderful cook and homemaker, having a special touch with decorating at holiday times. Jody’s personal hobbies and loves included gardening, reading, casual fashion, and passionately tracking current events related to social, economic, and environmental justice.
Jody is survived by her husband Jeffrey Novotny; daughters, Dana (John) Rivers, Lisa Novotny; son, Adam Novotny; grandson Malik and granddaughter Maya; sisters, Toni (Lionel) Lavoie, Gina (John) Horinger, and Briggitte (Dave) Rand; brother, Michael Neri; aunts, Sandra (Tom) Wilmer and Margaret (Ralph) Cordoba; 10 nieces and grandnieces; and 15 nephews and grandnephews.
Jody was preceded in death by her parents, Anthony Neri and Shirley (née Miller) Neri; brother-in-law, Lionel Lavoie; and niece, Kimberly Neri.
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